Some Hits:
1) Amandla Stenberg's piece "Don't Cash Crop on my Cornrows" grapples with the idea of cultural appropriation in a nuanced way that I really appreciated. There is a fine line cultural exchange and cultural appropriation, but there is an actual line and Stenberg seems okay with taking a stand on where that line might be. She also recognizes in the last line of her piece why we should even have a conversation about cultural theft: what would America be like if we loved black people as much as we love black culture?
I think about cultural appropriation A LOT. I think about when I step into yoga class. I think about when I consider wearing a print that looks vaguely African in derivation. I think about it when I read books that seem to fetishize other countries. I think about when I listen to music. I definitely think about it when a sports game enters my world. This essay spoke to me.
2) Brandy Colbert wrote a stirring piece, "In Search of Sisterhood," about the importance of black female friendship in her life and how important black representation in media is. I was moved by her writing and the honesty she had in expressing exactly how hard it is as a minority to find people with shared experiences and how it's even harder when you find those people and you don't actually want to be friends with them.
3) I loved all the ideas for books I got out of these essays. Books that I've now added to my list include Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, All the Rage by Courtney Summers, Black Girl in Paris by Shay Youngblood, and The Elementals by Francesca Lia Block.
Some Misses:
1) On page 14 (!), the author starts talking about faking orgasms. I know I'm a prude and maybe we should talk to our young women about why they shouldn't actually do this and encourage them to communicate with their partners, but, you know what. I don't actually think this is something that's worthy of page 14 status. This is recommended for grades seven and up and I just don't think it's appropriate for a seventh grader. There. Maybe if this had been in a more nuanced essay about sexuality and female orgasm, but it wasn't. It was a casual mention and I just found it out of place and way too early on in the book for my, admittedly prudish, tastes.
2) Matt Nathanson proudly declares himself a feminist. Great. But then he has to talk about it solely in terms of his daughter. I really hate this. When men write about feminism, I, perhaps unfairly, hold them to a high standard. If men are going to tell women how to feel about being a woman, they better do it in a super nuanced way. Only saying you care about women because of your mother, sister, wife, or daughter is one of the biggest ways to get under my skin. Maybe you should care about women because women are people, too, not just the ones who are related to you.
3) I know the editors tried to get a variety of types of writers (dancer, politician, songwriter). BUT THERE ARE SO MANY WRITERS. I think writing is great and I think making a career of writing is awesome, but it's also nice to hear about women being successful in other fields. When I was young, the guidance counselor would always give me four options for jobs - teacher, nurse, writer, and ruler of the world (I would force him to write down that last one). I wish I had even known that there were other options available to me AND had narratives about what that life would have looked like.
Overall:
I would recommend this book to a young feminist, but not a very young feminist.
I would like to give Matt Nathanson a piece of my mind.
I would definitely hide the fact that I was reading this if my mom were visiting.
I think it's a mixed success book, but I'm impressed with the gumption of the whole thing.
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